Breaking News
Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

DUI grant funds police operations

Published 2010-11-30T16:27:00Z”/>

news

Rudro Roy

There were a total of 26 arrests for driving under the influence in November, according to Chico Police Department statistics.

Twenty of those arrests were made during the weekend of Nov. 12-14.

Staffing for the weekend was normal, said Chico police Sgt. Rob Merrifield.

“I don’t know if it happened because officers weren’t as busy with other calls so they had more time to look for DUIs, or if it just happened that we got lucky and were able to intercept that many more,” he said.

The department was recently awarded a California Office of Traffic Safety grant for an anti-DUI program to combat deaths and injuries on roads, according to a press release. The program will last a year. The DUI Enforcement and Awareness Program grant will be used to implement DUI and driver’s license checkpoints and warrant searches and stakeouts for repeat DUI offenders.

In 2009, more than 10,839 people died in highway crashes involving a driver under the influence, according to the press release.

Crashes on Highway 99 – even those not proven to be related to drunk driving – seem to be increasing.

Three major highway accidents in October involved Chico State students and other victims suffering serious injuries.

Juliyana Streifel, 23, was involved in a four-car accident Oct.15 on Highway 99 when she was hit head-on by an oncoming car, according to a California Highway Patrol news release. Streifel was transported by helicopter to Enloe Medical Center for serious injuries.

She has since been released, said Christina Chavira, communications specialist for Enloe Medical Center.

Chico State student Ryan Finnerty, 21, was involved in a three-car accident Oct. 31. Finnerty’s car veered into the opposing lane west of Oroville on Highway 99. A head-on collision and subsequent fires killed four and injured three.

California Highway Patrol is still investigating the reasons behind the crash.

Finnerty, who was transported to UC Davis Medical Center for major injuries, was still in critical condition as of Nov. 22, said Susan Mar, a news service assistant for the center.

Jesse Kohen, 26, died Oct. 19 on Highway 32 when he lost control of his car and struck a tree off the side of the road.

Police are waiting on the coroner’s and toxicology reports to determine the exact cause of the crash, Merrifield said. These reports can take about two to six weeks to finish.

There were 12 accidents within Chico’s city limits in October, which resulted in two deaths, according to Chico Police Department statistics.

“A lot of people make the mistake – they get a DUI and they learn from it and they never do it again,” Merrifield said. “The ones that you hear about are the ones that have multiple DUIs.”

Rudro Roy can be reached at

[email protected]

 

  1. news_highway99
      Leave a Comment
      More to Discover

      Comments (0)

      All The Orion Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *